Beverwijk

The Jewish presence in Beverwijk dates to the early years of the
nineteenth century. The community was officially recognized in 1809
and, in the very same year, purchased a cemetery site on de
Kruiskrocht along the Kuikensweg in the nearby village of Wijk aan
Zee. In 1810, the community purchased the building of the former
Spes Mea Deus church on the Breestraat in Beverwijk and
converted it into a synagogue.

In the early years, the Jewish population of Beverwijk community
grew slowly and then declined. By 1815, the decline of the
community had led to financial problems but, by mid-century, the
problems were resolved and the community recovered. In 1864, the
community constructed a new synagogue - subsidized by the municipal
government of Beverwijk - and also expanded its cemetery. By 1874,
the ongoing growth of the community led to the construction of a
new Jewish school. Beginning in the 1920s, the Jewish population of
Beverwijk once again declined, in part due to the attraction of the
blossoming Jewish communal life that had emerged in nearby
Velsen.

During the late 1930's, Dutch Zionist pioneers preparing for
emigration to Palestine received agricultural training at "Kibbutz
Beverwijk." The nearby town of Wijk aan Zee also played an
important role in the lives of Jewish young people. In 1885, the
Herstellings- en Vacantieoord voor Israëlietische Kinderen
(Recovery and Vacation Place for Israelite Children) was
established at Beverwijk. Some years later, its name was changed to
the Israëlietisch Herstellings- en Vacantieoord te Wijk aan
Zee (Israelite Recovery and Vacation Place at Wijk aan Zee).
During the 1930's, the institution came to be known as the
Jozeboko, short for Joodsche Zee- en Boschkolonies (Jewish
Sea and Forest Colonies). Even after the Second World War, Jewish
children continued to vacation at Wijk aan Zee.

During the Second World War, the
fate of the Jews of Beverwijk was the same as that of Jews
elsewhere. In March, 1942, the Jews of Beverwijk were ordered to
move to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam they were deported, first to the
transit camp at Westerbork and then to Nazi death camps where most
of them were murdered. A small number of Beverwijk Jews managed to
escape death by going into hiding. After the war, thirty Jews from
Beverwijk returned alive from the camps.

In 1947, the Jewish community of Beverwijk was subsumed into that
of the city of Haarlem. Beverwijk's synagogue, the interior of
which had been badly damaged during the war, was sold and later
demolished. In 1951, the community's cemetery was cleared away and
the remains of its dead re-interred at the Duinrust public
cemetery which, to this day, is maintained by the municipality of
Beverwijk. A plaque marking the site of the Breestraat Synagogue
was unveiled in 1997.